Blood flow through the circulatory system can be restricted when a thrombus (blood clot) or foreign body develops inside a blood vessel or occlusive thromboembolism occurs. A thrombus is generally formed from platelets and fibrin to prevent loss of blood due to an injury to the blood vessel. Serious complications can occur if a thrombus grows too large and obstructs too much of the blood vessel. The thrombus may also break loose, forming an embolus that can lodge in another part of the body, obstructing blood flow and potentially causing irreversible harm to organs or death.
Ischemia is a reduction in blood flow to an organ or tissue, causing damage due to a lack of sufficient oxygen or fuel being delivered to the cells. One type of stroke (an ischemic stroke) occurs when a cerebral vessel is obstructed (such as by a thrombus or an embolus), reducing blood flow to a specific region of the brain. A blockage of this type can quickly lead to irreversible damage to brain tissue and death. It can be seen, therefore, that there is a great need for effective treatment options to remove blood clots to increase the blood flow to organs such as the brain while minimizing the fragmentation of the thrombus during removal.
A device known as a stent retriever may be utilized to capture and remove a thrombus from a blood vessel. The stent retriever is introduced into the blood vessel with a catheter. The stent retriever is the inserted into the thrombus and deployed. Upon deployment, the stent retriever expands to engage and capture the thrombus. The stent, along with the thrombus, is removed from the vessel, allowing blood to begin flowing again through the vessel. The stent retriever is engulfed in to a large bore catheter so that the thrombus captured and removed by the stent retriever en bloc without fragmentation.